Chapter 560: The Tartars Are Out!

Liaodong,.

Snowflakes continue to fall, rendering the earth white. Pedestrians are sparse on the streets, and the stalls are long gone. All the shops are closed. Business travel to and from Liaodong was strictly controlled. On the streets, there is no trace of Han Chinese. Except for a very small number of Han Chinese, all other Han people were centrally controlled.

On the first day of November in the eighth year of Chongzhen (the ninth year of Tiancong), Huang Taiji issued an order to secretly reorganize the army for war. Since then, the atmosphere of war has been deeply enveloped in the city. Many Tartars were preparing weapons for battle, including scimitars, arrowheads, longbows, bowstrings, etc., and some were sewing silk underwear. At this time, the busiest was the weapons workshop run by Han Chinese slaves. Under the watchful eye of the Tartars, Han Chinese slaves built a large number of weapons to enhance the Tartars' combat effectiveness.

Many stables in and around Shenyang have hoarded large quantities of forage. The hay was piled up like hills, and there was no end in sight. These forages were apparently prepared for the long-distance expedition of war horses. In front of many Tartars' homes, air-dried beef jerky is still hung. It was an essential food for the long expeditions of the Tartars. An experienced person can deduce the range of a possible attack of the Tartar cavalry only by looking at the amount of these beef jerky.

When Genghis Khan led hundreds of thousands of Mongol troops to conquer Eurasia, he often packed the dried beef jerky in calf skins and carried it on horses. Because the beef jerky has many characteristics such as small size, rich nutrition, not easy to spoil, not afraid of bumping and breaking, and silent during the march, it has played an important role in logistics support for the Mongolian army's repeated military exploits, and is known as "Genghis Khan's military rations".

At the time of the rise of tartars, they learned how to make beef jerky and spread it. In fact, the method of beef jerky is still relatively complicated, and there are many procedures. But when it's done, it's really an excellent dry food. It only takes a little arm size to soak in hot water to meet the needs of a meal.

accidentally smelled the fragrant smell of beef jerky, and Ma Yi's heart felt like scolding his mother. Because, at this moment, he is indeed very hungry. He really wanted to sneak out and steal a few pieces of beef jerky to fill his stomach. The north wind roared, the snow fell, and most of the Tartars hid in their houses to avoid the cold. Only Ma Yi curled up outside the room, quietly shivering. Hungry and cold, he could only scold in his heart: "Day, *** Tartar ......"

This *** weather is really too cold, much colder than Shandong. It's only November, and it's already snowing. His status as a slave left him without enough food, clothing, and standing in the wind all day long. Rao is his physical fitness is very good, but it is also enough. If it weren't for a strong belief in it, he might not have been able to hold on. It's just that in the past few days, Raha has always been running to the little goblin. The rest of the Tartar retinue hid in the next room to keep warm, and only he was forced to stand outside to let out the wind,

But this is also good, it is conducive to Ma Yi to think about a lot of things alone, and it is conducive to Ma Yi to synthesize all kinds of information together, and then deduce the upper strategy of the Tartars. Ma Yi actually doesn't have access to too many secrets. As a slave of the Han Chinese, he was discriminated against and wary of the Tartars at every turn. It's already very good that you weren't killed by the Tartars for no reason.

However, after all, he followed Laha, and he usually came into contact with a lot of people and things. Raha is the son of Yue Tuo, a Tartar with status, and he has access to a lot of secrets, of course. As long as Ma Yi spends a little thought, he can learn about Yue Tuo and Dai Shan's movements from Laha's mouth, and then speculate on Huang Taiji's actions.

Raha's eldest follower, Durba, is very brave in battle, but he has no brains. Durba is also very concerned about Yue Tuo and Dai Shan's movements, mainly hoping to return to the battlefield as soon as possible. He liked to joke about Ma Yi to show the superiority of the Manchurians. And when joking, Ma Yi can also get a lot of valuable information from him.

Combining all aspects of the information, Ma Yi can deduce the approximate situation. The Tartars, for example, continue to grow. Since the last time the information was sent, more natives have arrived. Khao Lang Wuwei and Fu Tiwei (both of whom were near the present-day Ussuri River) were all visited. A few hundred people also came to Mowen Hewei (near present-day Vladivostok, Russia). It seems that the help of the Tartars is still quite a lot.

However, the most people came were the Mongol cavalry. For more than ten days in a row, a large number of Mongolian cavalry came to Shenyang one after another. They were led by the leaders of the various tribes of the Mongols. Huang Taiji invited them to come to Shenyang, and the purpose was naturally self-evident. Durba was also called by Yuetuo to hold the Naadam Conference with the Mongols, and he was really excited for several days. While complimenting the horses, Ma Yi also learned more about the Mongols.

According to Raha and Durba's description, Huang Taiji, Daishan, Hauge and others were very busy during this time. The main reason for their busyness was to host the leaders of these Mongolian tribes. Because there are so many tribes in Mongolia and the names of the leaders are very difficult to remember, Ma Yi only remembers a few major tribes. Such as Korqin, Tumut, Chahaner, Hanha, Hao'er and so on. Even Raha was pulled in for a few days of reception.

Raha received a little princess from the Tumut tribe of the Tatar tribe. It seems likely that Raha married the little princess in order to strengthen the bond between Jianguo and Mongolia. However, this little princess really doesn't look good, and her temper is very bad, and she likes to whip people at every turn. Raha received her twice, and was whipped several times, and she was really depressed. Probably that's why Raha has been running to the leprechauns a lot lately.

Suddenly, Ma Yi noticed that the wheezing and moaning in the room had calmed down, so he packed up his mind and prepared to welcome Raha out. Sure enough, after a while, Raha appeared listlessly. It can be seen that the little Mongolian princess has really a lot of stimulation for him. After all, Mongolian beauties like Bumu Butai are very rare. A beauty of this level can't take Laha's turn at all.

"I'm back."

Raha yawned weakly and came to his horse.

Ma Yi still obediently bent down, let Raha step on his shoulders and get on the horse, and then pulled the war horse all the way back. Durba opens the way in front to prevent accidents. From time to time on the streets, groups of Tartars walked by in full gear. If Durba hadn't opened the way, maybe someone would have come up to the detriment of Raha. This is the time when the Tartars are adjusting the strength of each cow, and it is also the time when accidents are most likely to occur.

Every time he entered the Kou, it was a feast for the distribution of troops among the slave chieftains within the Tartars. What the Tartars value most is military merit. If you want to get enough military merit, you must have enough troops. You don't have enough troops, how can you get great military merit? Therefore, even the most reluctant slave chiefs could not help but be vigilant at this time. Otherwise, when others finish the operation, you will suddenly find that only a few old, weak, sick and disabled people are left in your own cattle records.

Obviously, in this feast of force distribution, the positive white flag and the inlaid white flag are the most unfavorable. Because, the owners of these two flags are still surrounded by Zhang Zhun in the distant city of Dengzhou. Without the presence of Dorgon and Duoduo, Huang Taiji would certainly not be polite. He transferred the most elite cattle records from the positive white flag and the inlaid white flag, and then added back a few of the most rubbish cattle records.

After the adjustment, the number of cattle records of each flag remains unchanged, but the quality has changed greatly. The strongest combat effectiveness is, of course, the Zhenghuang Banner led by Huang Taiji himself. The second strongest in combat effectiveness was the yellow flag led by Hauge. The third strongest in combat effectiveness should be Yue Tuo's positive blue flag. In other words, the elite Niu Lu of the Tartars is basically in the hands of Huang Taiji's cronies.

As soon as he returned to Baylor Mansion, an entourage hurriedly came up and said to Raha: "Third elder brother, Lord Baylor is invited." ”

Raha hurriedly straightened his face and followed his entourage.

Ma Yi rolled his eyes, as if he felt a little nervous, and then took a gentle breath to calm himself down. Similarly, Durba and the others beside him were also a little nervous, walking back and forth restlessly by Ma Yi's side.

Soon after, Raha came out. He looked at Durba, then at Ma Yi and the others, and said helplessly: "Ama won't let me go on the expedition, let me stay in Shenyang." ”

Durba and the others couldn't help but be disappointed. Instigating Raha to take the initiative to ask for war was exactly the idea of Durba and others. Now, Raha's request has been rejected by Yue Tuo, and of course they will be disappointed. These long-term followers are all good at killing people. As long as you go to the battlefield, you can get loot. If Raha didn't go to war and played with women all day, they wouldn't be able to share the spoils. Just relying on Yue Tuo's little reward, how much can it be?

Inside the Tartars, the most important thing is military merit. Only with military merit can there be gains. In other words, you can only get the most out of yourself if you go into battle yourself. If you want someone else's reward, it's impossible. In the same way, if Raha wants to improve his status, he must also go into battle in person in order to obtain military merits. It's a pity that Yue Tuo is obviously not ready to give Raha this chance.

Ma Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Ma Yi's heart, of course, didn't want Raha to go on the expedition. If Raha had gone with him, he would have followed. Once he left Shenyang, he would not be able to send information to the outside. Besides, what should he do if he encounters the slaughter of Han people on the battlefield?

Not having to go to war, for Raha, can be a good thing. Therefore, he is still in a good mood. Subsequently, he announced that there was another good thing, that is, he was given the name Karchuhun by Huang Taiji. In the custom of the Manchurians, it is a very honorable thing to be given a name by the Great Khan. Ma Yi didn't know what Khalchuhun meant in Manchu, but it must be good.

Khalchuhun's mood is better, and he is much gentler to the people around him. Ma Yi finally found a chance to slip out. He followed the code and came to the former joint location. As a result, he saw a stranger. The stranger was young, like a beggar, covered in dirt and with a strong stench, as if it had come out of a dung heap. His hair is a little yellow, his skin is a little pale, and he doesn't look like a pure Han Chinese. The code to each other is accurate.

"Are you ......," Ma Yi said with a frown.

"My name is Chafvis." Said the half-breed young man.

"You...... Not a member of the Tiger Army. Ma Yi said cautiously.

"I used to smell incense." Chaffil replied briefly.

"Smell the incense?" Zhang Zhun was stunned and didn't react at once.

"The Smell Sect is gone. Our Lady of the White Lotus has an order, and the Smelling Fragrance Sect has since been incorporated into the Tiger Ben Army. All of us have become members of the Tiger Army. Chafis said expressionlessly.

Ma Yi nodded, indicating that he understood.

Before the Tartars were about to launch the third invasion, Zhang Zhun would definitely find a way to solve the Wenxiang Sect, which was imperative. The Tiger Ben Army wants to free up its forces to deal with the Tartars' Nan Knock, of course, it is impossible for the Wenxiang Sect to pull back the legs behind the back. Now it seems that Zhang Zhun has successfully surrendered to the Wenxiang Sect, and has effectively incorporated the intelligence network of the Wenxiang Sect into the intelligence system of the Tiger Ben Army. This is definitely a good thing in the long run.

As for the establishment of the intelligence system, Ma Yi is well aware of the arduous work. Maoyan Division started from scratch and started from scratch, which can be said to have tasted all the hardships. Since it is a blank piece of paper, the current intelligence network of the Maoyan Division is still very fragile, with very few tentacles stretched out, and the valuable information that can be detected is good. Now that Brigadier Zhang has joined the intelligence network of the Wenxiang Sect, it will greatly increase the strength of the intelligence network of the Maoyan Division, increase the tentacles of the intelligence network, and can spy on more information.

Chafis didn't seem to be interested in Ma Yi either. The merger of the Wenxiang Sect and the Tiger Ben Army was relatively sudden. The perfect blend of the two people takes time. He said coldly, "I'll bring you this thing." ”

Anyway, from the back room, bring out a cage.

Ma Yi's eyebrows jumped suddenly.

Homing pigeon!

White carrier pigeons!

Chaffield actually sent a carrier pigeon!

That's a real goodie! In the absence of carrier pigeons, it took almost half a month to send the information back to Fushan City from Shenyang. First by land, then by water, and finally by land. However, with carrier pigeons, it takes a day and a night at most for the information to be transmitted accurately. What's more, he can also receive instructions from Zhang Zhun in a timely manner, so he doesn't have to worry about the passage of time.

Chapheis opened the cage and took the pigeon out. On the leg of the carrier pigeon, a small bamboo tube is tied. The written information is to put it in a bamboo tube, then seal it, and finally release the carrier pigeon. He said cautiously: "After you write the information, I will send it." Ten hours later, the pigeon can return to Shandong smoothly. ”

Ma Yi nodded and said excitedly: "Okay!" ”

Chafis added: "According to the arrangement of the above, a piece of information will be sent out every half a month at most. ”

Ma Yi nodded, indicating that he fully understood.

The two of them are working with their heads in Shenyang, and everything must be done carefully. It's full of Tartars, and if you show the slightest hint of it, you're going to be finished. If they fall into the hands of the Tartars, they can die a happy death, which is absolutely unwanted. Speaking of the methods of torture by the Tartars, even Ma Yi shuddered.

Do not think that if the carrier pigeon flies in the sky, the Tartar will not find out. Actually, the eyes of the Tartar are still very powerful. It would be strange if the carrier pigeons appeared frequently, so as not to arouse the vigilance of the tartars. Moreover, the Tartars also got some eagles from the Mongols. These eagles are trained to catch pigeons. If the Tartars find the carrier pigeons and release the eagles, their air contact with Shandong is likely to be cut off immediately.

Ma Yi immediately sat down and began to write information carefully.

He has a lot of information to write down.

First of all, it was the vanguard of the Tartars, which had already set off.

According to information revealed by Raha – well, now called Kharchuhun – the vanguard of the Tartars, led by Hauge, had already set out on the third day of the first month of November. The Tartar vanguard led by Hauge had a total strength of about 5,000 men. They will first reach the Horqin steppe in Mongolia. There, Hauge would consult with the leaders of the Mongol Horqin tribe on the route of the attack.

The Horqin tribe of Mongolia is one of several large tribes in Mongolia. The Horqin steppe is rich in aquatic grasses and supports a large number of Mongolians, horses, cattle and sheep. Some data show that the war horses produced in the Horqin grassland account for more than 30% of the production of war horses in the Mongolian grassland. At the same time, the geographical location of the Horqin tribe is also very special, which just cuts off the relationship between Shanhaiguan and Liaodong.

For a long time, the Mongolian Horqin tribe has been the object of the Ming State and the Jianguo. In the past, in the era of Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen, the strategy of winning over Horqin and jointly dealing with Jianyu was implemented. The Ming army used money to buy the heads of the Tartars from the Horqin tribe at a high price. Each head was counted according to thirty taels of silver. Therefore, the Mongols of the Horqin tribe were very active in fighting with Jianlu, and often made Jianlu miserable.

However, such a policy changed when Yuan Chonghuan was in power. Yuan Chonghuan refused to collect the head of the Tartar from the Mongols. As a result, the disappointed Mongols no longer fought with Jianlu. Jianlu took the opportunity to send people to win over the Mongol princes of the Horqin tribe, and finally succeeded in turning this large Mongolian tribe into a solid ally of Jianlu. The historical Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, Empress Dowager Xiaoduan, and Empress Fulin are all from the Horqin grassland in Inner Mongolia. It can be seen that the relationship between the two is close.

Every time the Tartars entered the Korqin steppe, they had to ask the Mongols of the Horqin steppe to act as guides and forwards. Because the Mongols here have the best understanding of the Ming army's defense line. The movements of the Ming army were basically difficult to hide from the Mongols of the Horqin tribe. Therefore, every time the Tartars entered the Kou, they could choose the weakest place of the Ming army's defense to attack, and then break it in one fell swoop. This time, of course, is no exception.

Secondly, the strength of the Tartars on the expedition was finally determined at 46,000 Mongol cavalry, 24,000 Tatar cavalry, and then 10,000 natives, 5,000 Han army banners, and 5,000 Korean servant troops, for a total strength of 90,000. Such a force is absolutely unprecedented. More than the combined strength of the first two Tartars.

In this abundant force, the Mongols obviously acted as the main vanguard. The number of Mongol cavalry was almost twice that of the Tatar cavalry. In addition, the Han army flag was also dispatched. Leading the Han army flag was Geng Zhongming and Shang Kexi, two big traitors. It's also a special place. The first two times he entered the Kou, the Han military flag did not follow.

The dispatch of the Han army flag means that the tactics of the Tartar cavalry may have changed, and there may be more Ming generals who will be lured to surrender successfully. The current Ming army, morale is very low, if surrounded by Tartars, and then there are Geng Zhongming and Shang Kexi two big traitors come forward, it is very likely to surrender the city.

Again, it was Huang Taiji who personally led the expedition.

For the third entry, Huang Taiji attaches great importance to it, in addition to appointing Hauge as a striker, he also personally puts on armor. The elite of the Yellow Flag, Huang Taiji took most of it. Those who stayed in Shenyang were Dai Shan and Azig. On the front line of Shanhaiguan, there are still red flags and red flags.

Huang Taiji personally went into battle, which means that the Tartars are indeed going to do a big job. Whether it's for show or sincerely, Huang Taiji has to work hard to save Dorgon and Duoduo. Otherwise, it will be an unprecedented blow to his reputation.

Again, the remaining forces of the Tartars in Liaodong are still relatively strong.

Thanks to the help of a large number of Mongolian cavalry, the strength of the Tartars appeared to be relatively sufficient. At present, the Tartars' strength in Liaodong still has 30,000 or 40,000 people, and there are more than 20,000 Mongolian cavalry. In addition, there are indigenous people who have arrived one after another. There was also a part of the Korean servant army.

Ma Yi felt that he needed to remind Zhang Zhun not to blindly attack Liaodong at this time. It is better to find a way to consume a little more of the Tartar's vital power, and then counterattack Liaodong on a large scale. The Tartar is in its own lair, and its combat effectiveness is very strong.

At the same time, Ma Yi expressed a high degree of concern about the Mongols. If the Mongols had always been so close to the Tartars, they would have added a lot of combat power to the Tartars. Therefore, it is very advantageous from a strategic point of view to be able to drive a wedge between the Mongols and the Tatars.

"I've got it written."

After a while, Ma Yi put down his pen and said slowly.

"Hmm."

Chapheis nodded, took the information, and carefully rolled it up.

In fact, there is no handwriting on the white paper, and even if the Tartar finds it, if there is no corresponding character display skill, it will not be able to find the information on it.

Chafis stuffed the rolled strip of paper into a bamboo tube and sealed it with fire paint. When everything was ready, he took the pigeon in his hand, quietly went outside, looked around, and found that there was no one, so he gently let go.

"Fluttering!"

The white dove, fluttering its wings rapidly, flew upwards and soon disappeared into the southern sky, never to be traced again.

Looking at the gradually disappearing carrier pigeons, Ma Yi's heart gradually became eager.

The wheels of war of the Tartars have begun to roll, is the Tiger Army ready?